Human Rights Organizations Express Concern Over the Immediate Risk of Deportation ...
... of Russian War Resister Maksim Kuzmin to the Russian Federation
30th March 2026
The undersigned organisations express their serious concern regarding the immediate risk of deportation of Maksim Kuzmin back to Russia, as he is approaching a yet another — and probably the ultimate — hearing on April 2nd 2026 at the Regional Administrative Court in Kaunas, Lithuania.
Maksim Kuzmin is a Russian citizen from Kaliningrad and a reserve military officer who refused to support the illegal war of aggression in Ukraine and started to engage in anti-war activities and eventually was forced to flee his country and seek protection abroad. He applied for protection in Lithuania where he has been declared a threat to national security, placing him under immediate risk.
BACKGROUND
Following the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Maksim Kuzmin publicly condemned the war and decided to leave Russia permanently. From 1995 to 2000 he studied at the Military Engineering Academy. After graduating, he served for one year in the construction administration of the Moscow Military District, where he worked on the construction of housing for military personnel. In 2002 he left the army and subsequently spent more than twenty years working in the civilian construction sector and in business. In November 2022 he moved to Lithuania with his family and applied for a residence permit.
DECISIONS OF THE MIGRATION AUTHORITIES AND COURT PROCEEDINGS
The Lithuanian Migration Department refused to grant him a residence permit and declared him a threat to national security, citing his education at a military academy more than twenty years ago. Maksim Kuzmin challenged this decision in court and won the case: the court annulled both the deportation order and the entry ban. The Supreme Court of Lithuania subsequently upheld this ruling.
Despite these decisions, in 2023 he was detained and had to apply for asylum in order to avoid imminent deportation to Russia. In 2024 the Migration Department again refused to grant Maksim Kuzmin asylum and ordered his deportation to the Russian Federation, despite previous court rulings establishing that he does not pose a threat to national security. In January 2026 he submitted complaints to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of the Interior and other Lithuanian state institutions, arguing that deportation to Russia would put his safety at risk due to his anti-war position and his status as a reserve officer.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN LITHAUNIA
During his time in Lithuania, Maksim Kuzmin has been actively involved in public life. He organised a running community and helped launch the international parkrun project in Vilnius. According to the organisers, these events brought thousands of sports tourists to the city. He has also participated in anti-war demonstrations and charity sporting events supporting Russian war resisters, as well as fundraising initiatives to assist Ukraine.
CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION
The undersigned organizations are alarmed that because Maksim Kuzmin is a consistent and genuine conscientious objector to war, there are substantial grounds to believe that if returned to the Russian Federation he could face mobilisation and be forcibly sent to fight in the war against Ukraine, where he could be compelled to participate in war crimes under threat of violence or severe punishment. During his time in Lithuania, he has given no reason whatsoever to suggest that he supports Russia’s criminal war against Ukraine.
We call thus for immediate international protection for Maxim Kuzmin.
APPEAL TO THE LITHUANIAN COURT
In light of the above, we respectfully call on the Court to:
— carefully examine all circumstances of the case;
— take into account previous court rulings confirming that Maksim Kuzmin does not constitute a threat to national security;
— consider the real risk of mobilisation and persecution should he be deported to Russia;
— ensure compliance with international obligations concerning the protection of refugees and human rights;
— provide Maksim Kuzmin with the opportunity to obtain international protection.
We recall that protecting individuals who refuse to participate in a war of aggression -that violates international law and involves crimes against humanity- and those who exercise the human right to conscientious objection to military service is prescribed by international human rights law and standards.
We, finally, call on the Lithuanian authority to fully align with international standards and duly implement the UNHCR Guidelines on International Protection No. 10.
SIGNING ORGANIZATIONS (in alphabetical order)
— «Agir pour la Paix» (Action for Peace; Belgium)
— «Aktionsgemeinschaft Dienst für den Frieden» (Action Committee Service for Peace, AGDF; Germany)
— «Association of Conscientious Objectors» (Σύνδεσμος Αντιρρησιών Συνείδησης; Greece)
— «Associazione Good Samaritan» (Good Samaritan Association; Italy)
— «Center for Encounter and active Non-violence» (Austria)
— «Center on Conscience & War» (CCW; USA)
— «Centro Gandhi di Ivrea» (Gandhi Center of Ivrea; Italy)
— «Community of Christ — British Isles» (Great Britain)
— «Conscientious Objection in Cyprus» (Kıbrıs’ta vicdani ret)
— «Conscientious Objection Watch» (Vicdani Ret İzleme; Turkey)
— «Coordination of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Conscience» (Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience, CAP Freedom of Conscience; France)
— «European Bureau for Conscientious Objection» (EBCO)
— «Fellowship of Reconciliation» (FOR; USA)
— «FemArtAct» (Greece)
— «FOR India» (Indian branch of IFOR)
— «FOR ZImbabwe» (Zimbabwean branch of IFOR)
— «German Peace Society — United Conscientious Objectors» (Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft — Vereinigte Kriegsdienstgegnerinnen, DFG-VK)*
— «INNATE» (Irish Network for Nonviolent Action Training and Education)
— «Institute for Peace and Law» (Інститут миру і права; Ukraine)
— «International Fellowship of Reconciliation» (IFOR)
— «International Fellowship of Reconciliation — Austria» (Austrian branch of IFOR)
— «International of Conscientious Objectors» (Internationale der Kriegsdienstgegnerinnen, IDK; Germany)*
— «International Peace Bureau» (IPB)
— «Kerk en Vrede» (Church and Peace; Netherlands)
— «Mesarvot» (מסרבות, Refusers; Israel)
— «MIR France» (Mouvement international de la réconciliation, French branch of IFOR)
— «MIR Italy» (Movimento internazionale della riconciliazione; Italian branch of IFOR)
— «Movement of Conscientious Objectors» (Движение сознательных отказчиков, MCO, Stoparmy Movement; Russia)
— «National Association of Democratic Lawyers» (Associazione Nazionale Giuristi democratici, GD; Italy)
— «Our House» (Наш dом; Belarus)
— «Peace Movement of Leuven» (Leuvense Vredesbeweging; Belgium)
— «Stop Fuelling War» (Cessez d’alimenter la guerre, SFW; France)
— «Un Porte Per» (Italy)
— «Vrede» (Peace; Belgium)
— «Vredesactie» (Peace Action; Belgium)
— «War Resisters’ International» (WRI)
— «World Without War» (전쟁없는세상, South Korea)